Written by Grace Vitaglione
The North Carolina General Assembly passed more than $604 million in Helen Disaster Relief on October 24, including $71.4 million for local health departments, mental health services, disaster nutrition assistance, child care, and other health-related areas. The funds were used to support countermeasures.
House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Kings Mountain) called the bill “another step” toward recovery. Lawmakers passed $273 million in relief in early October.
Moore said legislative staff and the state Department of Health and Human Services collaborated on the bill’s health provisions.
The funding falls short of the original $3.9 billion recommended by Gov. Roy Cooper to help with the situation created when the remnants of Hurricane Helen hit western North Carolina in late September. Cooper’s office released a preliminary damage and needs assessment on October 23, which found that at least 55 child care centers were damaged beyond reopening and 145 health care facilities were evacuated.
The General Assembly bill includes $10 million for the North Carolina Children’s Partnership to allocate to local Smart Start programs that help child care centers and family care homes reopen and maintain operations through cleaning, repair, and relocation. Ta.
Sen. Julie Mayfield (D-Asheville) said the bill is “insufficient” and that Western countries need to act faster. She said the $1 million allocated for rental assistance in the bill for people facing a housing crisis is not enough to help displaced residents.
Moore told reporters that Congress will reconvene in November after the election to pass additional funding for hurricane relief.
“Vulnerable people”
Moore cited people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and nursing home residents as vulnerable populations that are especially vulnerable to the storm’s effects.
That’s part of the reason the bill extends initial licensing for adult and family care facilities and directs a portion of the $25 million fund to support individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The remainder of the fund went to support mental health crises.
The bill also directed $1.4 million to county social services departments to assist vulnerable adults to reduce the need for protective services and institutionalization.
“We have a very vulnerable population that is being affected in a different way than people who were healthy,” Moore said.
An additional $5 million was earmarked to strengthen mental health services for students, families, and staff in public schools. The goal is to assist with the recovery process, trauma care, and return to school.
Research shows that children may be more susceptible to long-term mental health effects after a hurricane, but experts say most young people are resilient.
Rep. Carl Gillespie (R-Franklin) said during a meeting of the House Rules, Scheduling and Operations Committee that he was concerned that many students would be evacuated due to the storm and many would not be able to return to school.
Funding for mental health services is aimed at preventing that.
Schools can contract with community partners to provide mental health services. Funds may also be used to hire or contract school health personnel and/or licensed mental health professionals to provide services such as evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, and counseling.
The bill provides that services may be provided in person or through telehealth in individual, family, or group settings.
According to the bill, each eligible public school unit would receive an initial $30,000. Public leadership will distribute the remainder based on the allotted average daily attendance level.
The community college system was also allocated $1.25 million to expand mental health services for community college students and staff affected by the storm and its aftermath.
Governor’s recommendation
The governor’s office released a preliminary damage and needs assessment on Oct. 23 that projects Helen’s total damages will exceed $53 billion, which will drive the governor’s recommended $3.9 billion proposal. The amount was
Cooper’s office had recommended $251.6 million in funding for health and human services in areas such as public health, food insecurity and community health centers. Legislators appropriated only a small portion of that amount.
The two largest individual funds will be $100 million each for water and wastewater infrastructure repairs and loans to local governments. Much of that money will eventually be reimbursed by federal disaster funds.
According to the governor’s report, the areas of western North Carolina affected by Helen have a higher proportion of elderly people than other parts of the state and many rural areas with difficult access to health care and social services. It is said that there is. More than 40 percent of the state’s Medicaid population lives in this area.
“It’s no exaggeration to say that Helen is the deadliest and most damaging storm to ever hit North Carolina,” Cooper said at an Oct. 23 press conference.
Other funding measures included in the bill:
Allocates $12 million to local health departments to restore critical functions, including staffing, communicable disease and infection prevention efforts, environmental health efforts, and efforts to improve water quality in private wells. Allocates $10 million in federal funds to administer D-SNAP, the federal program that provides food assistance to low-income families affected by food loss and damage caused by Hurricane Helen. Allocates $9 million to county social services departments to provide energy assistance to households and $3 million to provide essential services and supports to children involved in the child welfare system.
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